AN ILLEGAL Chinese immigrant caught looking after a cannabis farm in a bungalow in Birkdale has been jailed for 21 months.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday that the potential yield of the plants was worth between £40,000 and £60,000.

Jailing Qin Xian He, who admitted cultivating cannabis, Judge John Phipps said that he accepted that He, who does not speak English, was the gardener.

It was a sophisticated operation with more than 1,200 young plants but He had only played a minor role.

“Drugs are a huge problem in this country and cannabis farms are increasing in this part of the world. People involved in farms such as this must be made aware that they will receive custodial sentences as a matter of course,” said Judge Phipps.

Deborah Birrell, prosecuting, said that on August 3 last year police executed a search warrant at the bungalow on Weld Road, Birkdale and found what they described as “a cannabis farm.”